I Will Always Be With You
by ILuvZaccy55
Summary: Gabriella was living was most would call and perfect life but in an instant everything comes crashing down. She's lost everything and now all thats left to do is get her life back to normal. Will she be able to without the one she loves? Trailer Up
1. Trailer

**A/N:** Okay so this has been idea I've been thinking about for like ever and I finally decided to put it out there. It's based on the song Someone's Watching Over me by Hilary Duff, from the movie Raise Your Voice. And no worries for my readers of **Never Say Never **I will definitely be finishing it. So anyway **bold **is the announcer, _italics _are scenes and regular text is convos.

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**Even in a perfect world…**

_Shows Troy and Gabriella watching a movie together on Gabriella's couch._

_Both are smiling and cuddled close together._

**Things can go horribly wrong.**

_Shows Gabriella sitting on her front porch alone, waiting. _

_She looks around one last time then heads inside as the sound of screeching breaks fills the air._

**When Your Worst Nightmare Comes True…**

_Shows Ms. Darbus bringing Gabriella into the hall._

"I'm sorry Ms. Montez but Troy was in an accident."

**Who will be there to help you through?**

"Gabriella this isn't all about you! You're not the only one who lost someone."

"I never said this was about me, I just thought you guys would be here for me."

**When your friends and family just aren't enough…**

_Shows Gabriella locking herself in her bedroom, shutting out her mom and Taylor._

_---_

_Shows her sitting alone at lunch, watching everyone else laughing and smiling._

**And the one person you need can't help you**

_Shows Gabriella looking out her window, talking out loud to what seems like herself._

"How could you just leave me like this? I need you."

"Gabby, it's not like I planned this."

"I know but I just thought you'd always be with me."

"I will always be with you. You know that."

**The only person you can turn to**

_Shows Gabriella going through photo albums and smiling._

"I am always going to love you."

**Is you.**

_Shows Gabriella practicing lines and rehearsing songs with Kelsi._

"You can do this Gabby, you've practiced more than enough."

_Shows her on stage on opening night, getting ready to start her second musicale at East High._

**I Will Always be With You.**

**Coming Soon.**

**A/N: **Should I write it? A better summary will be up with the first chapter. Reviews would be wonderful. Oh and I've made youtube videos to go along with this story, if you wanna see them the urls are on my page.


	2. I'll be waiting for you

**Well now that I've finished Never Say Never, I've finally had sometime to work on this story. So here's the first chapter and I hope you like it. The next one should be up later this week. Enjoy and comments are always welcome.

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"Taylor I'm not going to stop bothering you until you give me a good reason why you can't come tonight." Gabriella whined into her cell phone once again. She was trying her best to pull out as much information from her best friend as she could. The gang had already planned to spend his Moday night together but so far all it was doing was falling apart, and Gabriella was the only one who seemed to want to fix it. All of friends she had talked to were too busy or had other plans that they hadn forgotten and weren't able to come. She had only two people left and she was hoping they'd be there for her.

"Fine Gabby. Chad and me aren't coming because we already had a date planned for tonight. Happy now?" Taylor said all in one breath, making it hard to understand most of it.

"Not even close." Gabriella sighed. "Well I guess that's a reason. Will you guys be here next weekend?" Gabriella asked, hoping for a positive response.

"Of course we will. We wouldn't miss it." Taylor said and Gabriella let a small smile creep on her face. "Why don't you call up that boyfriend of yours and have him over. That should be much more fun than having all of us over."

"Oh no worries, he's my next call. I'll talk to you later Tay. Have fun tonight." Gabriella said and the hung up only to open her cell again and dial a very familiar number.

"Talk to me." the voice that Gabriella had grown to love said after the third ring.

"Hey you." Gabriella giggled and sat down on her bed. "Hey back." He said and Gabriella's signature smile appeared on her face. She just loved how Troy could say the smallest thing and still make her weak in the knees.

"Please tell me you're not busy tonight." She asked after a few minutes of talking. "Fine I won't tell you that I am." Troy answered and Gabriella sighed.

"No you can't be. Why can't you come over tonight?"

"Well my parents are forcing me to stay home while my grandparents visit. I don't have much of a choice." He explained, hoping Gabriella would understand.

"This is so unfair. Everyone is busy tonight. I have no one, not even my mom. She's at some business thing. I really want to see you right now Troy. Are you sure you can't get away?" she whined just like she had with Taylor. She hated feeling like the whiny, clingy girlfriend but she couldn't help but want to be with Troy. He was her everything.

"I'm almost positive Gabby. I'm lucky I can even talk to you right now."

"Please Troy? Can you at least try for me?" she whined a bit more, trying to convince him to come. "Oh fine, I'll be over in like ten minutes." Troy gave in and said after a few seconds of thinking.

"Yay, thank you Troy." Gabriella smiled. "I'll be outside waiting."

"See you in a few." He said, and before they both hung up Troy quickly spoke up. "Oh and Gabby?"

"Yeah?" she replied. "I love you." He said and then hung up, leaving Gabriella with a smile on her face. "I love you to Troy." She said out loud to no one in particular and then headed downstairs to wait for Troy to arrive.

---**Troyella**---

Gabriella had been waiting on her front porch for fifteen minutes and there was still no sign of Troy. She figured he was either running late or was caught sneaking out of his house. She was hoping he was just running late because she really hated being alone. It was the worst feeling to her. Even just being alone in her house for a few hours bothered her. She was so much afraid to be alone; she just hated knowing there was no one there for her if she needed them. She checked her cell phone for missed calls or text messages, hoping to find one from Troy saying he was on his way but so far she had nothing. She looked up and down her street, trying to find a figure walking towards her house but once again there was no one there. She was close to giving up and decided to call Troy again, but when she got no answer she finally caved and accepted the fact that he wasn't coming. She took one final look down her street and then quickly ran inside as she heard the sound of screeching breaks fill the air.


	3. Something's Wrong

**Here's chapter two it's a pretty important chapter and kinda sad. So as always comments would be lovely and hope you enjoy.

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For the rest of the night Gabriella stayed locked up in her room, trying to keep herself from crying. She couldn't believe Troy had blown her off. She tried his phone numerous times throughout the night but all she got was his voicemail. Of course it was nice to hear his voice but it still didn't cut it, she wanted him with her. So by the time the next morning rolled around she was in no mood to deal with his excuses. She decided that the silent treatment was definitely needed. Troy hated it, especially from her so she knew it would guilt him into begging for forgiveness.

"He'll wish he didn't blow me off last night." She said to herself as she headed off to school.

---**I Will Always Be With You**---

School started off normal, just like any other day. Well it was until Troy never showed up to meet Gabriella at her locker like he always did. He never missed one single morning. Even if she were sick he would wait just in case she did decide to come to school.

"Oh so now he's avoiding me." She said to no one in particular ass he gave up on waiting and filed into homeroom behind some of her other classmates. She expected to see Troy in his usual seat but once again she was let down.

"Hey Gabs." Taylor said smiling as she and Chad took their seats next to her.

"Hey guys." She said still watching the door hoping to see Troy come in with the late crowd. "Have either of you see Troy yet today?" she asked once the final warning bell went off and the halls went empty.

"Nope sorry." Chad answered. "Oh neither have I." she sighed a bit, feeling bad about being so mad at him.

"Well didn't you see him last night?" Taylor asked as Ms. Darbus began taking attendance.

"No. He said he would be right over but he never showed up." Gabriella said as she looked at the empty seat next to her, which should have been filled by the one person she wanted to be with. "He said his grandparents were over so maybe that's why he never came."

"Or maybe he's sick. I'm sure he'll fill you in after school." Chad said.

"Yeah you're probably right." Gabriella smiled a bit, hoping he friends would but her fake happiness.

No matter how hard she tried should couldn't help but think that something was wrong. And unfortunately she was right. Once the attendance was taken everyone started talking once again. Laughter and chitchat took over the room but it was all silenced as Ms. Darbus' classroom phone rang. Most people just ignored it but Gabriella couldn't help but watch as Ms. Darbus talked to someone on the other end of the phone. Gabriella instantly became nervous as Ms. Darbus looked over at her and sighed. Gabriella kept her eyes locked on Ms. Darbus as she hung up and looked down at her desk. It was a side of her Gabriella, or probably most students, had never seen before. Gabriella watched as she turned away and wiped her eyes quickly, then headed back towards her desk. Gabriella could feel her stomach doing flips as Ms. Darbus got closer and closer and she could have sworn she was going to have a heart attack before she got to her desk.

"Ms. Montez?" Ms. Darbus said, her voice cracking a bit. "May I see you in the hall?" she asked and Gabriella nodded as she followed her out and looked back at her friends who were just as confused as she was.

"Is there something wrong?" Gabriella asked right away, once they were in the hall. Ms. Darbus sighed and nodded her head. "Unfortunately yes. Gabriella there's been an accident." She said and Gabriella instantly felt her eyes fill up with tears. Not only because there had been an accident but also because Ms. Darbus had called her by her first name. That never happened, so she knew something was seriously wrong.

"What happened?" she managed to get out after a few seconds. "Who got hurt? My mom? Is my mom is okay?" Gabriella said hoping her mom all right.

"Your mother is fine." Ms. Darbus said and Gabriella sighed in relief. "It's Mr…" Ms. Darbus started to say and then corrected herself. "It's Troy." She said and Gabriella almost passed out right then and there.

"No." she whispered as the tears flooded back to her eyes. "Please tell me he's okay. Please."

"He was in the hospital all night, and they did everything they could Ms. Montez." Ms. Darbus said as she watched Gabriella begin to break down right in front of her eyes.

"And he's gonna be fine right? Everything is going to be okay."

"I'm sorry Gabriella. They tried everything they could." Ms. Darbus sighed and Gabriella dropped to her knees and finally let herself cry. "No he has to be okay!" she sobbed as she looked up and saw her mom walking towards her. "Mom, please. Tell me he's okay." She cried as she jumped up and ran into her mother's arms.

"I'm so sorry Gabby." Was all her mom said as she tried to console her heartbroken, and completely devastated daughter.


	4. Nightmares

**So here's chapter three. Sorry it took so long for me to update. Thanks to all who reviewed they were wonderful as always. I like how this chapter turned out, I know exactly how I want this story to go so more chapters should be up soon. So I hope you like it and reviews would be great.

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The halls of East High were filled, just like any other day. People stopped in front of lockers talking, others running to get to class and then there were some who were just taking their time. And that's exactly what Gabriella was doing. She was in no rush whatsoever, she just found herself casually walking through the halls as if nothing were wrong, but somewhere deep in the back of her mind, something was telling her that wasn't the case. As she filed through the halls among the rest of the student body the little voice in her head finally caught up with her and out of nowhere tears slowly started flowing from her eyes. And she saw no sign of stopping anytime soon. All of the students around her watched on as she leaned against her locker and sobbed. She only looked up once, just to see how many people had gathered around her to see if she was okay. And that's when she saw him. Down the hall behind a small group of students stood the one and only Troy Bolton. Gabriella's jaw immediately dropped, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Everyone had been telling her that he was really gone. Even when she went to the hospital and saw him lying lifeless on his bed she still couldn't let herself fully believe that he was gone. And now she knew she was right. He was there in front of her own eyes, smiling right at her. She quickly wiped away her tears and pushed through the crowd of people who surrounded her. She raced down the hall towards the one person she wanted to see. But her heart sunk once she realized that as she finally started to get close to him he started backing away.

"Troy! What are you doing?" she said as he continued to walk farther and farther away from her. When she got no response she picked up her pace and kept following him. But no matter how fast she chased him he stayed out of her grasp. She felt her eyes fill up with tears again, once the thought of not catching up with him crossed her mind. She looked ahead and to her surprise Troy was finally slowing down.

"Troy!" Gabriella screamed hoping to get his attention and thankfully she did. He turned around and smiled at her, which automatically caused a tiny smile to form on her face. But it left when Troy started to fade away. She was watching him literally disappear in front of her. "Bye Gabby." He said softly and in an instant he was gone.

Again.

"Troy!" Gabriella screamed as she woke up. Her eyes darted around her dark room, trying to figure out everything that had just happened. She felt her heart racing and found traces of tears in her eyes. She could have sworn everything she had just experienced was real, but after looking at her clock she realized that it all was just a dream. No not even a dream, it was another nightmare. This had to have been her fourth in the past few nights, and they just kept getting worse. All of them were relatively the same, they all had to do with her seeing Troy again and then having him disappear before she could do anything.

"Gabriella? Sweetie are you okay?" her mother asked as she rushed into her room and sat next to her. Gabriella immediately latched on to her mom and cried on her shoulder. "Another nightmare?" she asked as she held her daughter tight and rubbed her back. Gabriella nodded and tried to stop crying.

"I miss him mom." she mumbled as she pulled away from her mom and looked down at the floor. "How could this have happened to him?"

"I know you do Gabriella. We all do." Her mom said as she wrapped her arm around her daughter. "And no one knows why these things happen. They just do."

"Well it's not fair. This shouldn't have happened to Troy." Gabriella sighed as tears returned to her eyes. She sat with her mom holding her and just cried. It was sad to say but they both were getting used to this. It happened every night, so it was just something they knew to expect. "Will these nightmares ever go away?" she asked a few minutes later.

"Of course they will, I don't know exactly when but they will. Trust me Gabriella I know what you're going through, I was the same way when your father died. It's not easy but it will get better I promise." Her mom said as she rubbed her arm. Gabriella sighed and thought about how her mom was when her dad died. All she did was sulk on the couch for months. She barely spoke to anyone. It took her mom a long time to finally get over it and for some reason Gabriella felt like it was going to be the same way for her. "I hope you're right." She said quietly.

"Are you sure you're ready to go back to school? You know you don't have to back so soon." Her mom said thinking back to when her husband died and how she couldn't go back to work for months. "Yeah I'm sure, I can't sit in this house anymore. It's getting too depressing." Gabriella sighed.

"Well just remember if it gets to hard, you can home and go back when you're ready." Her mom said and kissed her head. "Thanks mom. I guess I better try to go back to sleep." She said and her mom got up and headed towards the door. "I love you." She said as she climbed back into her bed. "I love too, now get some sleep." Her mom said quietly and then left Gabriella to sleep. And luckily she had no more nightmares for the rest of the night.

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The first few steps into East High were much harder than Gabriella had expected. Just thinking about facing her first day of school without Troy made her hate taking another step through the door. Her heart began to race as she noticed all eyes on her as she finally got through the main doors of the school. It was almost like she was the only person people cared about. Normally she was just fine blending in with the crowd and only standing out when she was on stage with Troy. But she never really liked being the center of attention and now especially she wasn't up for it. She just tried to shrug it off and made her way down the crowded hallway. As she headed to her locker she soon realized she had to face something she wanted to avoid. Troy's locker. She turned the corner and came face to face with it. She felt tears building in her eyes as she saw all the photos, letters, and envelopes filled with notes and memories that were shared with Troy. But the one thing that really caught her eye was a photo right in the middle. It was of her and Troy during their first performance of the Twinkle Towne Musicale last year. She smiled bit and some tears escaped from her eyes and onto the floor as she thought about how nervous they both were that night, and how they both made their fair share of mistakes that first night. But it was all worth it; it easily was one of the best nights of her life. She quickly dug through her backpack and found her favorite picture of she and Troy, which she carried with her everywhere, and then tucked it in between a few other ones. She sighed and then continued on to her locker. She knew she was in for a hard day and homeroom hadn't even started yet.

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Once again all eyes focused on Gabriella as she slowly made her way into her familiar homeroom. She smiled a bit as all of her friends including; Chad, Taylor, Sharpay and Ryan got up and gave her a huge group hug. She was relived she had them to help feel better even if was just a little. She took her regular seat and did her best to avoid looking at the empty desk right next to her.

"We're glad you're back Gabs." Taylor said as the group gathered around her again. "We missed you." Sharpay added, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

"I missed you guys too." She said and let a small smile creep on her face. "Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to be here right now?" she said a few minutes later.

"I can't even imagine." Ryan said quietly since no one else could think of something to say. "I know it was hard for me, so it has to be so much harder for you." Chad said after. Gabriella nodded and thought about how close Troy and Chad were. They were exactly like brothers and even fought like them too. They really only had one fight, which was over the summer at Lava Springs but it barely lasted a week and in an instant they were brothers again. She knew it must have been extremely hard for Chad right now too, but somehow he seemed okay. But Gabriella knew better than that, he was just good at hiding how he really felt.

"It's just too hard to believe that he's really gone. I can't help but think that he's just gonna walk in here and everything will go back to the way they were." Gabriella sighed, checking the door just to make sure. "I know so do we, but that's not gonna happen Gabs. No matter how bad we want it to." Taylor said trying to let her friend down as easily as she could.

"But what if it did, I mean maybe they messed up, what if Troy's still alive?" Gabriella said suddenly realizing that the hospital could be wrong and Troy could still be with them. "Gabriella come on, are you listening to what you're saying? You saw him yourself he's gone." Chad said, getting slightly upset at this sudden outburst from her.

"No guys I'm serious. I know Troy is okay. I can feel it, he's here." She said back but the end of her sentence was barely heard. Her eyes had traveled back over to the door and there he was. Just like in her dream the night before. Troy was standing in the doorway smiling at her and at their group of friends. And this time he wasn't fading away. "Troy." Gabriella whispered and kept her eyes locked on him.

"What did you say?" Chad asked as he stared at his friend who seemed to be in a trance. "Troy, he's right there!" she squealed a bit and pointed at the door. All of her friends quickly turned their heads but were disappointed when they saw no one. "Gabs that's not funny." Sharpay said as they all turned back to her.

"I'm not joking don't you guys see him?" she said and smiled back at Troy who was leaning against the doorframe. "No we can't. I get that you miss him Gabs but pretending that he's here isn't gonna bring him back." Taylor said as she returned to her seat along with the rest of the group, all a bit depressed. Gabriella sighed and then looked back at the door to see that Troy was gone.

"He was right there." She sighed and looked back at the door one last time to see that no one was there. "I swear. I saw him."

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**A/N: So that's chapter 3, it's a long one but I hoped you all liked it. And again reviews are always welcome.**


	5. Missing You

**Okay so it took me like years to update but I really wanted to make this chapter good, and I hope it is. It's pretty long, well longer than most. I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter. The reviews were wonderful as always, and more would be even better. They get me motivated to keep writing, so feel free to leave one. Anyways on to chapter 4. Enjoy!

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Gabriella was barely making it through the day. She found herself zoning in and out in all of her classes. She could not stop thinking about what had gone on during homeroom. Her friends hadn't spoken to her practically the whole day, at least since the whole Troy incident. She knew they were avoiding her and she really couldn't blame them, she did act pretty crazy. It was obvious she was seeing things because no one else saw Troy, only she did. She wanted to forget about the whole thing but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about seeing him, standing in the doorway of their homeroom smiling at her. She knew she saw him; there was no way around it. But since no one else saw him she just tried to make herself believe that she was wrong. She just wished someone else, anyone else had seen him too, and then she would be certain that he was still alive. By the time her free period rolled around Gabriella was completely drained, both physically and emotionally. Ever since the news of Troy being gone, all Gabriella had done was curl up on her bed and cry. Which always led to sleepless nights, just like the previous one. This was her first day actually out of her house and doing something. She thought it would help take her mind off of Troy and the accident but it was only making it worse. Everywhere in the school reminded her of him. Just passing by the gym caused a few tears to roll down her cheeks. Half the time she didn't even realized she was tearing up because she was so used to it. And all throughout the day she could have sworn she saw Troy everywhere she went. It was starting to freak her out. Even if she saw him for a split second she could still tell it was really him. And that too would bring tears to her eyes. But she just did her best to keep her chin up and not let everything she saw make her cry.

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As she sat at one of the computers in the library, trying to catch up on some of her homework, she couldn't help but look up other things. She just typed in random things, like her favorite food or how she was feeling and see what popped up. Nothing was really catching her eye that was until she spotted something that interested her. It was some internet quiz that most people just pass by but this one was different, at least to Gabriella. This one told you what you were afraid of. Now she would normally never do this kind of quiz, cause it never interest her. But something was telling her she had to do it. When she was younger she was never afraid of anything, because her dad always told her to be strong for him, but now with both he and Troy gone she couldn't even imagine herself being strong, it seemed almost impossible. So even with all that on her mind she clicked on it and within minutes her results were being calculated. As the page loaded she couldn't help but wonder what her answer would be. She honestly couldn't think of a thing. She and her friends took quizzes like this one all the time and they always had some idea of what their results would be but this time she had nothing. Finally the page loaded and she scrolled down to her results and unfortunately they weren't what she was expecting to see. She was hoping to see something like, simple. Like that she was afraid of the dark or of heights, she never expected what she really got. One word on the page stood out and it was all she could look at. And that one word was **alone. **Just seeing that sent chills down her spine. Never in her life had a stupid quiz like this one been so right. She definitely was afraid of being alone, and now with Troy gone she was dangerously close to becoming just that. Her friends weren't talking to her and her mom was always away on some business trip somewhere, which left Gabriella to stay by herself in her house, all alone. She would normally have Troy stay with her until her mom came back but now those times would just be memories.

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At that moment she realized she really had no one to go to. And that scared her more than she ever expected it would. She finally tore her eyes away from the computer screen and raced out of the library. She had never been so happy to see the end of a school day. As she started in on her walk home she kept thinking about that quiz. She was trying to convince herself that it was just a joke or a coincidence but so far that wasn't working. Once she snapped out of her crazy thoughts she couldn't believe where she found herself. She was standing right in front of the Bolton household. She didn't plan on going there but it was almost like a habit to her, she had done the same thing for the past year and a half and for some reason this time didn't seem any different. Before she knew it she was on their front porch knocking on their door. Troy's mom, Lucille, answered a few seconds later. And to be honest she looked awful. It was obvious she had been crying all day, if not all week. She weakly smiled at Gabriella and then pulled her into a hug, which they both truly needed.

"So what brings you here Gabriella?" Lucille asked as they pulled away a few minutes later, both with some stray tears in their eyes.

"Honestly I don't know." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "I was just walking home, thinking about pretty much everything and I just ended up here. It was almost like something was telling me to come." She explained as they both stood in the doorway.

"Oh I know what you mean sweetie, it happens to me all the time." Lucille said nodding in agreement. "I'll be running all around the house, trying to keep myself busy and then out of no where I'll be in front of Troy's room." She sighed, struggling through the last part of the sentence.

"Really? His room?" Gabriella said, not realizing she had said it out loud. Mrs. Bolton nodded, wondering where Gabriella was going with this. "Do you think I could…?" she started to say quietly as her eyes wandered to the staircase behind Mrs. Bolton.

"Of course, go on up." She smiled a bit and moved over, allowing Gabriella through. "Thank you." she said quickly and then raced up the stairs.

Once Gabriella made it to the top of the stairs, her eyes locked on to one door, the one with the number fourteen on it. She felt herself smile a bit at the red and white plastic numbers as she slowly made her way over to the door. She took a deep breath before she turned the knob and let herself in. Her whole mood changed the second she shut the door behind her and her eyes began to wander around. She instantly felt tears build in her eyes and she slowly walked around, looking at things she had seen thousands of times before, only this time it was so different. It seemed so dark and lonely. But it was exactly the way Troy left it, not one thing was changed. His clothes were sprawled all over the floor, and half of his homework and textbooks were in the corner, barely touched. Gabriella laughed quietly and continued looking around, seeing numerous basketball related things and then her eyes landed on his nightstand, which had two pictures of she and Troy. She sat on his bed and looked at both of them. A few tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at how happy they both were, everything was always perfect when she was with Troy. But now it was the opposite. She had to pull herself away from the pictures, or else she would have broken down crying and wouldn't have been able to stop. She was about to leave but something caught her eye. Folded on Troy's dresser was his Wildcat jersey. She carefully picked it up and held it out in front of her. Just looking at it, brought back tons of memories. She quickly wiped away a few tears and hugged the uniform tight against her chest. It even smelled like him. She practically collapsed on his bed and cried. Cried hard. Everything that she had kept bottled up just came pouring out. Being in Troy's room alone made her realize that he was gone. And wasn't coming back. Her thoughts immediately went back to the day Ms. Darbus told her Troy was gone and how she went straight to the hospital to see him.

_**Flashback**_

_Gabriella and her mother raced down the pure white hallway of Albuquerque Medical Center and finally found room 114 where Troy was. Gabriella burst through the door to see Jack and Lucille Bolton crying on one another's shoulder. And behind them was the one person Gabriella knew she had to see. Her mom grabbed her arm before she could get to the bed and pulled her back._

"_Gabriella are you sure you want to do this?" her mom asked her quietly. She knew this was going to be a major shock and she didn't want Gabriella to be anymore devastated than she already was. "Yes mom, of course I do." She said and then broke free of her mothers grasp. _

_Both Troy's parents and Gabriella's mom stepped out of the room to let her be alone with Troy for the last time. Gabriella slowly made her way to the edge of the white bed with her eyes closed, not wanting to see how bad his injuries were. Once she got next to him and opened her eyes, she felt her heart drop. Tears instantly appeared in her eyes and her hands flew to her mouth. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The Troy in front of her was not the same Troy she knew. His normal tanned skin was now pale, and his gorgeous light brown hair looked dull and faded. And she knew if she could see his eyes, the gorgeous blue eyes she had always loved, that they would be dark and grey. The exact opposite of what they should have been. His face had bruises and scratches all over it along with the casts on his arm and leg. She carefully set her hand on his chest and hoped to feel his heart beating, but she was left with nothing. _

"_Troy please wake up. I know you're not gone. Just please wake up for me." She cried out as she stared at his bruised but still gorgeous face. "Troy don't do this. You need to be okay, we all need you. And you know what? I 'm gonna be selfish. I need you Troy, you're my everything. Just be please be okay baby." She said as more tears poured from her eyes. When she didn't get a response she lost it and collapsed on his chest crying. She held on to him tight, hoping he would wrap his arms around her and never let go, but it wasn't happening. After a few more minutes of crying her mom and the Bolton's returned. Their faces dropped as they saw Gabriella latched on to Troy sobbing. None of them wanted to bother her but they knew she had to let go. Her mom slowly made her way over to her heart broken daughter and set a hand on her shoulder. At first Gabriella thought it was Troy, because she hadn't heard the adults walk in but when she looked up at Troy's face and nothing had changed she knew it wasn't him. _

"_Gabriella, sweetie. I think we should go." Her mom said quietly. "No, mom I don't want to leave him. I need to be with him." She sobbed and held on to Troy tighter. "Gabby I know this is hard but staying here isn't going to bring him back. I really think the best thing to do is to just go." Her mom sighed and rubbed her back. Gabriella pulled away from Troy and looked at her mom with tears in her eyes. She nodded slightly and then looked back at Troy. She brushed some hair out of his eyes and let out a watery sigh._

"_I love you so much Troy, and I always will. Don't ever forget that." She whispered as she leaned down and kissed him. She didn't care if he didn't kiss her back, she just had to show him one more time just how much she loved him._

"_Goodbye Troy." Gabriella said quietly as her mom lead her out of the room._

_**End Flashback**_

Gabriella finally snapped out of her thoughts and noticed how much darker it had gotten. She had no idea just how long she had crying but she figured it was about time she should go home, even though she really didn't want to. She gently re-folded the jersey she had grown to love and placed it back on Troy's dresser. She sighed again, for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, and then wiped her eyes free of tears.

"I can't believe you're really gone." She whispered as she ran her fingers across a picture of Troy on his dresser. "I swear I keep seeing you everywhere I go. Everyone thinks I'm crazy or something and I'm starting to believe I am too."

"Babe you're not even close to crazy."

Gabriella's head shot up as soon as she heard a familiar voice. At first she just wanted to shrug it off like she had earlier that day but she knew she wasn't wrong this time. She slowly turned her head around and her jaw almost hit the ground. Stretched out on his bed, was the one and only Troy Bolton tossing his stuffed basketball up in the air. Gabriella finally knew she was right, he was in front of her and this time she was going to find out what was going on.

"T…troy?" she stuttered as she watched him catch the basketball and sit up, smiling at her.

"Yes Gabby?" he smiled at her and for the first time that day Gabriella smiled her usual gorgeous smile.

"Is it really you?" She asked slowly making her way over to him.

"Of course it's me. Why were you expecting to meet some other guy here?" he laughed as he stood up and Gabriella giggled with him. "No, no it's just…how are you here?" she said as she got within touching distance of him.

"Well I kinda made a deal with the 'big guy'." Troy smiled and pointed up towards his ceiling. Gabriella looked up and then gave him a confused stare. "Don't worry about that now I'll explain it all later."

"Okay." She said quietly. She just stared at him for a few minutes, not really understanding what was happening. She finally broke the silence and asked something she never thought she'd have to ask. "Can I…touch you?" Gabriella asked quietly, hoping her answer was a positive one. "Give it a try." Troy said with a small smile on his face. Gabriella slowly reached her hand out and set it on his chest and smiled. She couldn't believe she could actually feel him again. Without wasting any time Gabriella jumped into his arms and held on to him tight.

"I can't believe I'm back in your arms again." She whispered as she buried her face into his neck and held him closer. "Well believe it Gabby, it's really me. And I'm not going anywhere." Troy whispered as he kissed her head.

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**So there's chapter 4. Hope you all liked it and I'm sure chapter 5 will be up soon. And once again reviews are much appreciated.**


	6. The Deal

**Okay so I know I took years and years to get this chapter up but its midterm week and I've been studying non-stop for a while now. So that's why there was such a delay but now that the tests have started I have more time to write and bam! here's chapter 5. So it's a pretty important chapter, it explains a lot so I hope everyone understands it and likes it. So read and enjoy and leave a review, letting me know what you think. I love hearing what people have to say, and reviews get me motivated to write more so review! lol okay I'm done blabbering now.

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Gabriella woke up the next morning with her alarm clock ringing in her ear. She quickly rolled over and turned it off as her eyes adjusted to the light that pouring through her window. She slowly pulled herself to the edge of her bed and got up to get ready for another horrible day of school. Her eyes finally adjusted to her bright room and she quickly caught a glimpse of a picture of she and Troy on her nightstand. That's when it all came back to her. She remembered everything from the day before. But what she couldn't remember was how she got back home. The last thing she remembered was clinging to Troy for what seemed like the first time in years. And that's when it finally hit her. Everything that had happened the day before must have been a dream, just like all the ones she had been having over the last few days.

"No. No this can't be happening. Not again, that was all so real." Gabriella said out loud to herself as she paced back and forth in front of her bed. "I know it was real. It had to be. I saw him, I felt him, and I talked to him. He was right there." She sighed and looked around her room, hoping to see the one person she was missing. But as usual she was let down and Troy was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes went right back to the picture on her nightstand and she frowned.

"Oh who am I kidding? I never saw him. That was all just another nightmare." She said as she went over and grabbed the picture. "How could you do this to me Troy? How could you just leave me? You promised me that we'd be together forever, and last time I checked forever was longer than a year and a half." She continued, as her voice elevated a little.

She didn't know why but she was mad at Troy, sure she knew all this ranting would do nothing but it felt good to let it all out. "Why would you make a promise you couldn't keep? I trusted you Troy, I really did and then you go and do this. It's not fair." She growled as she continued to stare at the picture. "You know what Troy? I never thought I'd ever say this, especially to you but…I hate you. I hate that you left me. I hate that all I can think about is you. And I hate how every single thing I see reminds me of you." She said as a few tears fell from her eyes and she threw the picture, that she truly loved, against her closet door.

She collapsed on her bed and finally just let everything go. She had kept everything bottled up for too long and now seemed like the right time to just cry. And that's what she did. She just cried and cried, not really wanting to stop. She knew if she didn't, she's break down one day and wouldn't be able to get back up and that was one thing she didn't want to happen.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Gabriella Montez admitted to hating someone. And her boyfriend nonetheless, what is this world coming to?" A voice suddenly appeared in the room and Gabriella's head shot up. She looked over she shoulder and couldn't believe what she was seeing, or at least what she thought she was seeing. Troy was kneeling on the floor by her closet, picking up the broken pieces of glass that had shattered when the picture hit the door. "I thought you liked this picture?" he smiled at her and set the frame and picture back on her nightstand.

"I did…I mean I do." She stuttered, still trying to comprehend what was going on. "It's my favorite picture of us…what am I doing?" she stopped mid sentence and looked at Troy. "You're not real. Just like you weren't yesterday."

"I know you hate to be wrong Gabby, but I am real. And that really was me yesterday." He said as Gabriella shook her head and looked away. "No you're not real! Because every time I think you are, you disappear so I'm not falling for this again. I don't know what's wrong with me, but it all will go away eventually."

"Gabby, look at me." Troy said softly and watched as Gabriella wiped her eyes and slowly made eye contact with him. "It's really me. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." He smiled and ran his hands down her arms and held her hands.

"But how? How are you here Troy? You're…dead." She said quietly. "I mean I saw you in the hospital."

"I know, I mean it's not like I planned this but like I said yesterday, I made a deal with the 'big guy' upstairs." He said as lead her over to her bed and they both sat down. "What kind of deal? I don't get it?" Gabriella said, as she held on to Troy's hand tight, just in case this all was another dream.

"Okay this might sound confusing, but you know how everyone has their, 'time to go' and well apparently it was my turn." Troy started to explain and Gabriella tried to hold back more tears. "Well I knew I didn't want to be gone so I begged and pleaded to be able to come back. But when that didn't work out I settled for the next best thing." He continued as Gabriella's eyes stayed locked on his trying to understand everything he was saying. "And the next best thing is?"

"This." Troy smiled kissed her quickly. "Only you can see me Gabby. I got to chose one person who can see me and of course I picked you." He explained as Gabriella's mouth dropped open.

"What? No Troy you can't pick me. You should have picked your mom or your dad. They miss you so much. Troy I want you to go back and ask for a do over or something, and pick your parents." Gabriella exclaimed as she stood up and stared at him.

"Gabby calm down. I thought all about that." He said as he pulled her into his chest and held her tight. "My parents have been with me my whole life. My time with you was cut way to short. And knowing my mom she'd be saying the same thing as you and would make me go back and choose you." He smiled and kissed her head. "So I know I made the right choice." Gabriella looked up at him and smiled. She couldn't believe that this all was real. It was truly amazing.

"Wait. So how long can I see you?" Gabriella asked a few minutes later. "For as long as you need to see me." Troy answered and Gabriella looked at him with a confused look on her face. "I'll be here until that day comes when you find another guy who makes you happy."

"But I won't want you to leave." Gabriella sighed. "So I guess I'll just stay single forever. There problem solved." She smiled, she was perfectly happy with that idea. "Gabby come on, you know you'll find someone." Troy laughed a bit.

"No I won't, no one like you Troy. And that's all I want. So I'll just stay single and be with you forever."

"No you won't babe." Troy protested and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're gonna find some guy who makes you happy and you won't need me any more."

"Troy, I made up my mind. Now this conversation is over." She smiled a bit and Troy softened. "Fine Gabby, I guess we'll have to deal with that when the time comes."

"I love you Troy." Gabriella whispered and slipped into his arms again. "I love you too Gabby. More than anything you know that." He smiled and held her tight.

"Oh and Troy?" Gabriella asked a few seconds later. "Yeah?" he asked as he rubbed her back slowly. "About what I said earlier, all the hate stuff…"

"Don't worry about it babe, I completely understand. I'd probably do the same thing if I lost you. You're forgiven." He laughed and Gabriella joined him. "I missed you." She sighed quietly as she laid her head on his chest. "I know I missed you too. But I'm here now."

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**A/N: Okay so there's chapter 5. It's kinda short but it's an important chapter so I hope you all liked it, and as always reviews are always welcome. They help so much.**


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